Just after midnight on Sept 15, 1944, B-24J, 42-50890, was cleared from Bakersfield to Kirtland Field. According to the AAF mishap report, “the airplane crashed 15 miles off course on wrong side of airways...The airplane crashed against the west slope of the San Francisco Peaks at approximate elevation of twelve thousand (12,000) feet. The scene of the crash was fifteen miles off-course on the north side of the airway.”